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Monday, April 16, 2012

Barley congee : a light cooling, healing drink for summers

We often eat for social reasons and indulge a bit more. Some refined carbs and refined oils inevitably find their way to our stomach when we eat out or when the food preparation is not under our control. On such occasions we eat bigger portions sometimes or just too many dishes for the comfort of the gut. So the next day should be a relaxing time for the digestive tract. Something light that soothes the inflammatory effects of badly prepared food or poorly chosen portions. Or simply bad combinations of food.Whatever.

Some meals are simply inflammatory to the system. Very high sugar in one meal is one example when the meal turns inflammatory, especially when the sugars are prepared with refined flours and refined oils too. We can undo the damage to an extent.

Barley congee helps doing just that. And much more. A detailed post is intended, stay tuned for that.

I am going to tell you how simple is this congee to make. I am almost forced to write this recipe as one of the true followers couldn't get what was supposed to be the cooking procedure and the congee turned out an unpalatable experience. I would never want someone to turn away from a yummy solution to such recurring problematic meals we have to have sometimes.

So the step wise recipe or better to say a how to procedure of the Barley congee is here.

Two tbsp of Barley flour is all that is required to make 2 huge mugs of this congee. Here is the flour in a microwave safe jug . A carafe can be used too.

Add half a cup of plain water to this flour and mix well so no lumps are there. Now add a cup of water again to make it thinner.

This can be done in a thick bottom pan too and then cooked on stove top till the mixture boils and becomes transluscent.

Just like this.

This pictures is after a 2 minutes boil in the microwave. Cook it till the slurry becomes frothy and rises in the jug. It looks like this.

Cook again till it gets frothy and rises till the neck of the jug..

This time when you check it , the slurry becomes even more uniform and smooth.

Emulsion like.

Now add plain cold water to this slurry to make 2 mugs full of this drink.

Use the seasoning according to the mood of the day I would say, you need different spices on different days. Isn't it?

In my case it was a chutney made using mint, spring onion, green chilly and salt. Two tsp of this chutny in my barley congee makes my tummy happy.

The same drink can be converted into a great pro and prebotic health drink by adding some natural yogurt to it and let it sit on the kitchen platform for about 12-14 hours.

A slight lacto fermentation of the Barley congee makes it a lovely tasty gut healthy drink. Thinned down to your wanted consistency at the time of consumption. Almost like buttermilk.

Whenever there is constipation, I recommend fermenting this drink using natural whey. The whey that is the byproduct of making paneer cheese. It works well for making the gut movements ease out. Seasonings of this drink can be any one of the above mentioned.

Now you see how versatile is this Congee. Different seasonings and different liquid mediums to get desired results. This is a favorite detox recipe for me in the summer months. It can be given to children too.

Serve cold or chilled.

It can be a daily healthy summer drink as well. The same way we have our buttermilk or Lassi.

Let me know if you liked this drink. It will be a helpful recipe up your sleeves.

Edited to add : The drink can be made using pearl barley as well. The procedure is simple.

Soak the pearl barley for 3-4 hours or overnight.
Now make a paste adding some water to it.
This paste would directly be used as a paste of the flour and water in the second step of the above recipe.
Just dilute the paste with a cup of water and cook till frothy and the mixture rises up the vessel.
Dilute again with cold water, add seasoning and serve cold or chilled.

1/2 cup pearl barley soaked in a cup of water. The paste will be about a cup, 2 tbsp of the paste would make two large mugs of a thick buttermilk like consistency Congee.

19 comments:

as kids every time we had fever, we used to have hot barley drink with little sugar for lunch. never liked it...but also dint know this has so many properties. recently started adding barley in soups and slowly developing a taste for this.must give it another thought.

I remember having salted barley drink that was made using a 'Purity Barley'(a yellow colored tin pack) and I guess it was refined Barley starch. This drink is unrefined and the probiotic version is great.

Dear Sangeeta,Lovely post.(might be a repost of my earlier comment, I'm not sure if my comments were added second time around, pls ignore if so.)I was narrated a hurried quick recipe for barley drink/conjee by a kind Punju aunty while paying for groceries. I also was told about this quinoa breakfast drink, peruvian, also at a grocery store , while purchasing groceries. you might know of it , as you experiment with such delicious flavors and ingredients and make them so easy for us to learn and repeat in our homes.

Thank you so much Kamal Ma. I had received your comment on the earlier post, been loving this interaction :-)I am planning to make this Peruvian breakfast drink as well. Thank you for the link.Keep in touch, we learn a lot from each other :-)

about the blog

Healthy cooking comes naturally if you love your ingredients . We all love good food but we can cook healthy good food only if we know about the ingredients , and how they work for our body and soul. Here i write about all the natural whole food , cooked in the most simple ways , the ways Ayurveda and Naturopathy approves and reinforces . If you believe in natural whole food which heals your body and soul , you would love this space . My cooking incorporates the principles of Ayurveda and Macrobiotic diet and my ingredients are all local and affordable . Healthy choices are not always beyond our means . The most unappetizing sounding ingredients can be cooked to take you to blissful lands . Come with me.